Being near water makes you happier

[stevensuf]

https://www.sott.net/article/423376-...-body-and-soul

[svHyLyte]

"It is not so much for its beauty that the Sea makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from the waves, that so wonderfully renews a weary spirit."


It's the ions....

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

"It is not so much for its beauty that the Sea makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from the waves, that so wonderfully renews a weary spirit."


It's the ions....

I do think it is indeed the ions or something like in the air. I felt the effect even living next to a fresh water lake.

[Tortuga's Lie]

Maybe it's something biological/primordial since our bodies are mostly made up of water, we are naturally drawn to it???? Some deeper need to be near it. Whatever the case, I am indeed compelled to be around the water as much as possible.....maybe being a Pisces??!!!

[Shrew]

I got a job offer a while back. When I told my wife her first question was "What is the boating/cruising like there"? After finding out how far we'd be from the ocean.....and waiting for her hysterical laughing fit to die down.....she advised that I consider politely declining the offer.

She advised to not bother bringing such ridiculous ideas to her in the future, unless the job or move involved selling the house and moving ONTO the boat.

If she had her way, we'd sell most of our material possessions and move onto the boat full-time.

[Tortuga's Lie]

Originally Posted by Shrew

I got a job offer a while back. When I told my wife her first question was "What is the boating/cruising like there"? After finding out how far we'd be from the ocean.....and waiting for her hysterical laughing fit to die down.....she advised that I consider politely declining the offer.

She advised to not bother bringing such ridiculous ideas to her in the future, unless the job or move involved selling the house and moving ONTO the boat.

If she had her way, we'd sell most of our material possessions and move onto the boat full-time.

What a lucky guy to have such a wife! Mine is for the idea and wants to go cruising.......just not sell everything and never look back. She wants to cruise part time......If it were entirely up to me, I would simplify and go full time.

[hpeer]

And living in a city makes you sick, or it did me.

[SwellGuy]

I agree- the effect of living on the water is strangely, uniquely impactful. There are nights I sit and stare out at the bay for hours, unable to walk away from taking it in. It's interesting, especially on a saltwater body which in some way connects you to the rest of the entire world, that ship in the distance could be coming from the other side of the planet, it's so quiet, but so alive with people and things.

I had a funny thought the other night looking at the blinking red and green buoys far in the distance. Imagine the first night those were turned on. Some old duffer had been looking out at his gorgeous moonlit view, dark islands in the distance, perhaps an occasional passing ship, and all of a sudden the modern world turned that view into a freaked out christmas tree. Ooof. At least for me, never having known any different, its just another beautiful and relaxing part of the scene.

[crybllrd]

"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears or the sea."
-Isak Denesen

[barnakiel]

OK.


But what works for some will not work for others.


There are also people who do not like to be at the seaside, let alone being on the sea.


Many people find the continuous rumbling of the ways deeply disturbing.


b.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Shrew

I got a job offer a while back. When I told my wife her first question was "What is the boating/cruising like there"? After finding out how far we'd be from the ocean.....and waiting for her hysterical laughing fit to die down.....she advised that I consider politely declining the offer.

She advised to not bother bringing such ridiculous ideas to her in the future, unless the job or move involved selling the house and moving ONTO the boat.

If she had her way, we'd sell most of our material possessions and move onto the boat full-time.

I, too, feel that I must be near the sea. I feel that I must be able to smell the salt sea. (Norwegian ancestors, etc.)

I once turned down a lucrative job in Mexico City, which probably would have changed my life, because I didn't want to be away from the sea. (little did I know that there is sailing, on lakes, near Mexico City).

I also love the city. The vibrancy of the inner city excites me so for years I wanted to live in a marina on the waterfront of a major city and did a few times. It was great. But now I love my quiet little Mexican village on the sea, La Cruz, and want to live nowhere else.

[Chayal]

Originally Posted by hpeer

And living in a city makes you sick, or it did me.

I second you there ^

Great article OP...

[LittleWing77]

I live one block from Lake Ontario in the Beaches part of Toronto; it's absolutely lovely and I'm tremendously lucky. In season, I sail every weekend out of a little Club that's a 20-minute bike ride from my place.

Despite that, I constantly yearn for the sea. It never leaves me. I was out on a fantastic overnighter this weekend and while helming, I was aware still that the smell of salt was absent, there is no pull and cycle of the tides, and the motion of a Great freshwater Lake is distinctively different from that of an ocean...

If you love the sea, it's incurable.
LittleWing77

(Re the article: Funny, but my grandfather's people were from Westport, Mayo, Ireland - maybe it is genetic!)

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

But what works for some will not work for others. There are also people who do not like to be at the seaside, let alone being on the sea.

Those would be mountain/forest people or plains people - I'd venture to say they wouldn't be members here!

LittleWing77

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

...Despite that, I constantly yearn for the sea. It never leaves me. I was out on a fantastic overnighter this weekend and while helming, I was aware still that the smell of salt was absent, there is no pull and cycle of the tides, and the motion of a Great freshwater Lake is distinctively different from that of an ocean...

I'm so glad to hear this from another sailor LW. I've spent most of my sailing days on the Great Lakes -- mostly on Lake Superior. The Big Lake can look and feel like the ocean, but now that I'm an Atlantic sailor, I know there is something missing.

The oceans feel alive in a way the Lakes never can. It's the smells, the look, the life, the feel ... the oceans are alive unto themselves. It really does get under your skin.